Franco Alieri (born 1968) was Prime Minister of Italy from 2029 to 2031 (succeeding Rosa Gallone and preceding Maria Cavaletti) and from 2032 to 2033 (succeeding Cavaletti and preceding Francesco Crespino). Alieri inherited the Lega Nord party leadership at a time when the party was nearly eliminated from the Chamber of Deputies and his predecessor defected to the left, and he managed to resurrect Lega and transform it into the largest party on the right, ending the domination of politics by rival leftist parties which defined the 2020s. Alieri's tenure saw the population of Italy re-elect him - a right-wing candidate - to power several times while also electing a leftist Chamber of Deputies, leading to several clashes over social programs and taxation. Alieri was unable to achieve much of what he promised, but only term limits ended his service as Prime Minister.
Biography[]
Franco Alieri was born in Ravenna, Romagna, Italy in 1968. He worked as a banker for decades before being elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2009 as a Lega Nord deputy, and, in 2023, he became party leader after Franco Cafora defected to the Democratic Party of Italy. For a whole session of parliament, Alieri was the only Lega Nord deputy, although he presided over the rebirth of the party as the largest party of the right. In 2029, his party won 4 seats, tying with the Italian Left to be the second-largest party in the country. In doing so, he disqualified Prime Minister Rosa Gallone from reelection, and, in the ensuing presidential election, Alieri defeated M5S leader Marcello Ruvolli 57.3% to 42.7%.
Premiership[]
As Prime Minister, Alieri's first act was to support a 13-6 vote to establish free museums. The dominance of the parliamentary left in politics prevented Lega Nord from abolishing several taxes, thwarting Alieri's efforts. However, Lega ultimately succeeded in abolishing the income tax in a vote of 12-10. M5S - despite being the decisive vote in favor of the immigration ban - foiled Lega's attempts to block a birthright citizenship law, which passed 15-6; they also foiled Lega's attempts to outlaw prostitution. M5S and Lega Nord successfully pushed for a law to implement highway tolls to save the slowly decreasing economy, but M5S narrowly failed to pass a bank tax after a vote of 9-13. However, they were able to pass a luxury tax after a vote of 11-10, with half of Lega opposing. In the early 2030 election, M5S' support dropped to 35.34% and 8 seats, while they were followed by Lega Nord's 19.75% and 5 seats, SI's 15.49% and 4 seats, FI's 14.71% and 4 seats, and PD's 14.7% and 3 seats. Alieri then won re-election with 60.3% of the popular vote, defeating Ruvolli's 39.7%. A dog license bill proposed by M5S narrowly failed 10-11, and an income tax bill was shot down 12-9. A corporate tax bill proposed by Lega passed 13-9, but a hunting regulations bill failed 13-11. A referendum on the existing immigration ban saw 62.9% of Italians favor it and only 37.1% oppose it, and Lega's restrictive policies remained in place. In early 2031, a dog license bill passed 12-7, bringing in tax revenue; an income tax was then approved 12-7. In the ensuing election, M5S was reduced to 33.53% of the vote and 8 seats, while LN was reduced to 19.07% and 4 seats, SI rose to 16.73% and 4 seats, FI rose to 15.04% and 4 seats, and PD rose to 15.63% and 4 seats. Alieri was prohibited from running for re-election due to term limits, and Lega candidate Maria Cavaletti narrowly defeated Ruvolli 52.3% to 47.7% to win the premiership.
Return to Power[]
During Cavaletti's tenure, former M5S Prime Minister Ignazio Uberti proposed a successful bill which abolished term limits, hoping that popular M5S leader and former PD prime minister Francesco Crespino could end a drought in M5S' control of the premiership. However, this amendment also allowed for Lega to select Alieri as its candidate for the premiership after the 2032 general election, supplanting incumbent Prime Minister Maria Cavaletti. Alieri narrowly defeated Crespino 52.5% to 47.5%, becoming Prime Minister once again. His attempt to abolish the car tax failed 10-14, and he also failed to abolish the land tax. In a vote of 12-11, the government narrowly abolished retirement homes, leading to months of M5S protests. M5S, angered at the long terms afforded to Prime Ministers, decided to move elections down to 25 weeks each, halving term lengths in a bid to take advantage of growing anti-Lega sentiment to oust the party from power should it win the presidency again. Alieri then ended government-sponsored organ donation efforts, abolished hunting regulations, and abolished the land tax, while it failed to abolish public housing in January 2033. It then abolished vehicle emission limits and refused to re-enter the European Union. M5S organized large-scale protests in preparation for the upcoming elections of mid-2033, which saw M5S win 31.75% of the vote and 9 seats, SI won 19.25% and 6 seats, PD surged ahead to 17.29% and 5 seats, LN dropped to 18.84% and 6 seats, and FI dropped to 12.87% and 4 seats in a major loss for the right. In the ensuing presidential election, M5S leader Francesco Crespino defeated fellow former Prime Minister Rosa Gallone 51.6% to 48.4%, returning the M5S to power after six years in opposition.